"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."
"Maria! No!" Shadow screamed, but it was too late. Maria had already pushed the button, sending the pod he was in towards the planet Mobius. As he began to lose conciseness, Shadow caught a glimpse of something. It seemed to be a hedgehog, flying down to Mobius from the colony. "That's…impossible. I was…the only hedgehog on the colony…"
Shadow awoke from his slumber, gasping. He had that nightmare ever since the incident on Ark. But he was not expecting to have a dream this time. He looked around. He had no idea where he was. "I'm…alive?" He said. Just then, a duck and a walrus walked into the room. They were startled when they saw that he was awake. Shadow jumped up and pinned them both against the wall.
"Where am I?" he asked angrily. Before the two had a chance to respond, a squirrel in a blue vest ran in.
"Please, stop!" she begged, and the look in her eyes reminded him of Maria and convinced him to put the two down.
Again, he asked, "Where am I?"
The squirrel nodded and replied. "You're in Knothole. I am Princess Sally Acorn, and…you have already met Rotor and Dr. Quack," Sally said, pointing over at the duck and the walrus, "Who are you?"
"I am Shadow the Hedgehog, the ultimate life form created by Gerard Robotnik" Shadow answered. Noticing the looks he received from the three, Shadow shook his head. "Do not worry, he is dead, and I currently have no ties to the Robotnik you know."
"Okay, but what happened to you? We found you in the middle of the woods yesterday." Rotor told him. When he heard this, Shadow looked confused.
"I'm not sure. I remember stopping the colony from crashing on Mobius with Sonic's help-." He began, but was quickly interrupted by Sally.
"You were with Sonic?! Is he alright? What about the others?" she asked; a look of concern present in her eyes.
"He is fine, as far as I know. I remember falling...but I can't remember anything else."
"Maybe this will jog your memory," Dr. Quack said, as he pulled out a chaos emerald, "We found this in your hand."
Shadow looked at the emerald, and then he said "I remember now. I was falling, and then I saw a chaos emerald falling also. I grabbed it, and used chaos control to teleport me safely to the ground. I must have passed out soon after."
"Chaos control???" the three asked.
Realizing their lack of knowledge on this subject, Shadow explained it to them. "It is when I use a chaos emerald to move at hyper speed."
Nodding, Rotor then said, "Tell us about what happened on Ark, please."
Shadow told them how he and Sonic stopped the colony from crashing on the planet. While he was talking, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Rouge walked in the hut. "Hey, Sal-"Sonic said, but he stopped when he saw Shadow. They all did.
"Shadow?" Tails asked in disbelief, having last seen the black hedgehog sacrifice himself to save Mobius from the plummeting space colony.
"We thought you were dead," Knuckles said, flabbergasted at the sight of Shadow.
"How did you survive?" Rouge asked. It was clearly visible that she was happy to see Shadow, even more so that the others. With that, Shadow told them all of how he saved himself from his impending doom. Soon afterwards, Knuckles decided that it was time to return the Master Emerald to Angel Island. After saying their goodbyes, Shadow began to disembark.
"Where do you think you're going?" Amy asked, mirroring the thoughts of everyone else in the hut.
"I believe I've overstayed my welcome. So I'm going to leave…" Shadow said, looking back at his friends.
"No way," Sonic said. "I'm sure that we've got an extra hut around here somewhere."
Tails added, "And if not, then we can build one! It's the least we can do!"
Shadow, smiling at this act of kindness, took the offer graciously.
Sixth months later, Shadow still enjoyed his life at Knothole. He had helped the Freedom Fighters on many occasions, and was considered an honorary member. One day, a message came through on the main moniter, and all of the Freedom Fighters, including Shadow, went to see what it was bout. The screen showed Knuckles and the Chaotix. "Guys, something is attacking Station Square, we're on our way, but you guys should come too."
"What is it, one of Robotnik's robots?" Amy asked.
"No, from what people are saying, it's a hedgehog."
Suddenly, the memory of the hedgehog flying down from Ark flashed across Shadow's mind. He began to fall, but Sonic caught him.
"Are ya okay?" Bunnie asked.
Shaking off the sensation, Shadow replied, "I'm fine. Let's go"
When they got to Station Square, half the city was destroyed. "Vhat could du zees?" Antoine asked. When they landed, Knuckles and the others were already there. Knuckles was fine for the most part, but the members of the Chaotix were injured.
Standing before them was a hedgehog that looked almost exactly like Shadow, only violet and blue instead of black and red. The only significant difference was that his quills bent downwards much like Sonic's, though they still maintained the streaks. The hedgehog smiled confidently as he watched the newcomers step out of the jet. Shadow and Sonic dashed ahead to where Knuckles was. "Hey, Knux, are you okay?" Sonic asked.
"I'm fine, but this guy is extremely powerful. I can't even touch him" Knuckles replied, regaining his breath.
"Who are you?" Shadow asked as he turned his head to the powerful stranger.
"Who am I? I am Dusk the Hedgehog, the ultimate life form, created by the great Gerald Robotnik. I am looking for one called Shadow the Hedgehog, do you know where he is?" Dusk asked boastfully, his arms crossed. His voice was very similar to Shadow's but had a deeper, eviler tone.
As Shadow heard Dusk's claims, he stepped forward. "I'm him, and you're mistaken. I'm the ultimate life form."
"Hm. So you're the other hedgehog Professor Gerald created. Strange, I expected you to be more powerful. I barely sense any energy in you" When Dusk said this, Shadow became enraged.
"We'll see who's stronger," he said as he pulled out the chaos emerald that he always carried with him; the one that had saved his life. "Chaos Control!"
Shadow rushed at Dusk at super fast speed using Chaos Control. When he reached the mysterious hedgehog, Shadow threw a punch. But, Dusk caught it with ease. "Ha. I see you still need a chaos emerald to perform Chaos Control. Pathetic." He then punched Shadow in the stomach and disappeared. He reappeared behind Sonic, grabbed his head, and slammed it into the ground. Knuckles went to throw a punch at him, but Dusk grabbed his arm, and flipped him over onto Sonic's back. As the three started the get on to their feet, Dusk began to levitate into the air. "Do you understand my power now," he said as he grinned, "Or do I have to continue showing you?"
"I don't care who you are, I'm taking you down!" Sonic yelled as he charged at super speed and used his sonic spin. As he was approaching, Dusk held out his hand and stopped him. He then pushed him back into Shadow and Knuckles, sending all three of them to the ground.
"Guys," Knuckles said as they got up, "We can't beat this guy if we attack separately. We need to attack at once!" Shadow and Sonic dashed at Dusk and began throwing a flurry of punches. But, Dusk just kept dodging them all. Knuckles came from behind with a roundhouse, but Dusk ducked to avoid it. He then grabbed Knuckles' legs, and slammed him on the ground. He then kicked Sonic in the head, and went to punch Shadow. He dodged it, but then Dusk elbowed him in the back of the neck.
The Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix watched in horror as their friends were being beaten. "We have to do something!" Mighty said. They went to help, but Knuckles held up his hand to stop them.
"No! If you try to fight him, you'll end up getting hurt. Leave it to us." Just then, Dusk appeared and head butted Knuckles. He then performed a back flip, kicking Sonic into the air with his feet. He blasted Shadow with an energy ball. He began to fly up after, Sonic. When he caught up with him, he slammed him into a building.
"Well Shadow, do you believe me now? You haven't touched me! I am the ultimate life form!" Dusk bellowed as he hung in the air.
Shadow and Knuckles ran to aid Sonic. When they found him, he was lying on the ground, moaning. Shadow told Knuckles, "He should be fine,"
After being helped to his feet, Sonic, slightly delirious from the impact, asked, "What happened?"
"You were punched into a building," Knuckles answered, chuckling at his friend's obliviousness. Just then, the already damaged building began to collapse as it was struck by green energy blasts.
Shadow, Knuckles and Sonic dashed for the exit. When they stepped outside, Dusk was there to greet them. "I'm somewhat surprised you survived that. No matter. There is no way you can defeat me!" He exclaimed, laughing maniacally.
Watching from afar, the Freedom Fighters and Chaotix became frustrated at Dusk's seemingly invulnerableness. "If only they could turn into their Super and Hyper forms, then they could beat him!" Espio said.
Overhearing this claim, Dusk turned his head and asked, "Do you really think that these 'Super and Hyper forms' can possibly be a challenge for me? If you do, you are deadly mistaken."
"We all know they can beat you!" Sally replied confidently.
"Let's see if you are right." Dusk then clapped his hands, and Shadow, Knuckles, and Sonic turned into Hyper Shadow, Hyper Knuckles, and Super Sonic. "…What just happened?" Sonic asked as he looked at himself and his friends.
"I gave you each power equivalent to 7 chaos emeralds and 50 power rings. Now, let's see if your friends are right, shall we?"
Dusk rushed at Hyper Shadow, Hyper Knuckles and Super Sonic. They jumped to the side and each fired an energy blast. When they landed, they could only see smoke. "Heh. Guess he's not so tough after all," Super Sonic said confidently. Then, Dusk dashed out of the smoke and began to attack Sonic. They both threw a flurry of punches and kicks at each other at lightning fast speed. Super Sonic finally landed a blow, kicking Dusk in the stomach, sending him hurtling backwards. He performed a flip to stay on his feet. When he looked up, Hyper Shadow punched him in the face. Dusk was sent flying, and Hyper Knuckles delivered a kick to his head. After spiraling through the air, Dusk landed on the ground. Hyper Shadow, Hyper Knuckles and Super Sonic went to continue their assault, but he disappeared.
"Where'd he go?" Hyper Knuckles asked. They turned their heads as Dusk appeared on top of a nearby building. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come and get me."
Angered at the powerful hedgehog's confidence, the trio began to fly up at Dusk. As they did, Dusk began to gather energy. All kinds of debris began to collect around him. He then released his energy, and all the fragments shot at Hyper Shadow, Hyper Knuckles, and Super Sonic. They avoid them with ease, but then Dusk appeared right in front of Hyper Shadow and knocked him to the ground. Hyper Knuckles and Super Sonic dashed at Dusk and began to attack with a barrage of punches and kicks. It seemed that Dusk had trouble dodging and blocking them.
The Freedom Fighters and the Chaotix watched as their friends took the upper hand. "Yeah! They have this fight in the bag now!" Vector said.
"That guy is going down!" Rotor added.
As her friends cheered, Julie-Su remained silent. "It doesn't seem right. This guy seems to be…holding back," she thought. "But why? I hope those guys know what their doing."
Hyper Shadow flew up at Dusk, who was still holding off Super Sonic and Hyper Knuckles. He then tackled him into the side of a building. Hyper Shadow then tried to throw a punch, but Dusk caught it and punched Hyper Shadow in the stomach. Hyper Knuckles and Super Sonic then fired two energy blasts, sending Dusk to the ground.
"Just give up," Hyper Shadow said as Dusk got to his feet.
"Yeah, you got cocky and gave us enough power to beat you. Bad choice," Hyper Knuckles added.
"You are the ones who are cocky. Play time is over!" Dusk screamed as he began to gather massive amounts of energy. As he did, the ground began to shake. A bright green aura began to envelop him.
"What's happening?" Bunnie asked.
"I don't know," Amy replied, "But it doesn't look good!"
Suddenly, a bright flash emitted from Dusk, blinding them all. When it cleared, his physical form had changed. He was now blue with green streaks. His muzzle was the same color as his fur and no mouth was visible. His eyes had become deep green voids. His quills had grown in length, and were now down to his ankles. He looked very similar to Chaos. "Are you scared now? I am Omega Dusk! Or, in other words, your doom!"